Borges Top 25: Rough week for Mick Cronin, Cincinnati

Published 10:47 pm, Sunday, December 3, 2017

Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin, left, directs his players alongside Cane Broome (15) in the first half against Xavier on Saturday.

Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin, left, directs his players alongside Cane Broome (15) in the first half against Xavier on Saturday.

Photo: John Minchillo / Associated Press

Borges Top 25: Rough week for Mick Cronin, Cincinnati

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This might be hard to believe, but Mick Cronin is actually a personable, funny guy. Great guy to talk to at AAC Media Day every year. Returns phone calls in the summer, too.

But the man has a serious chip on his shoulder, coupled with a bad temper and some sort of Napoleonic complex. That’s a tough mix. Cronin whines about everything — his team getting sent out West in the NCAA tournament every year, the lack of respect he gets from refs, the lack of respect his conference gets overall. His latest target was Xavier’s J.P. Macura, after the Musketeers had pretty much dominated the Bearcats in their annual Crosstown Shootout rivalry game on Saturday.

Somehow, the memory of Lance Stephenson was even stirred up in the whole, strange thing.

Look, Macura may or may not have been out of line. But a head coach has to act more mature. And Mick Cronin, as great an interview as he can be, proved again on Saturday that he can be an immature hot-head who thinks the world’s out to get him and his team.

It’s not, Mick. It’s really not.

Anyway, we drop the Bearcats a full 10 spots on our Top 25 ballot after Saturday’s ugly loss, while rewarding Xavier for a great week of beating two ranked teams by moving it up nine spots. Elsewhere, we bounce USC, Baylor and Louisville from our ballot and welcome Purdue, Nevada and Rhode Island.

1. Duke: Funny thing is, Blue Devils haven’t even played that great yet.

2. Michigan State: At least UConn can claim it played Sparty tougher than North Carolina, Notre Dame did.

3. Kansas: Let’s see if UConn can attack Syracuse’s zone the way the Jayhawks did Saturday night.

4. Villanova: Cats showdown with Gonzaga deserves top billing over UConn-Syracuse Tuesday night at the Garden.